Rise Above (the Pull-Up Bar!)

[Rhovaniel]

So, a recent 'no running' order from my physio has prompted a little PvP idea, as whilst my issues get ironed out and I'm cleared to run again, I will be focusing a lot on upper body strength. 

 

 

 

Whatever our circumstances, wherever we are, no matter how far from, or close to, our goals, we face being bogged down by our enemies. Sloth, fatigue, well meaning friends and family encouraging us to forgo this workout or that, scared or jealous ones who tell us the same in different ways. Injury. Sickness. The enemy is everywhere, whispering in our ears, lying to our faces. Tripping us so we fall. 

 

But defeating our enemies is what we do. We are the Rebellion. If we are to conquer the demons, achieve our goals and silence the negative voices trying to dampen our radiance, we must do this one thing above all else. We must Rise. 

 

In that spirit, this PvP is about Rising Above the Pull-Up Bar. Or hanging off it, but that didn't work so well in the title

 

                                                                                                 

 

The rules are simple. The PvP will start tomorrow, the 27th November (because I am not organised to get the challenge underway beforehand!) and run until the end of the challenge on the eve of Christmas Eve. The Rebel with the most points wins.

 

You can sign up here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1H9po8MwPLpVDDtespqiMhkykd6ntQB7GMNvwZbHjOP4/edit#gid=0

 

 

Points are allocated according to which category it belongs to. Pull-Ups or Hangs.

 

Pull-ups - Each rep is worth 10 points

 

- For the sake of simplicity and to avoid confusion, ONLY THESE EXERCISES COUNT as a 10 point/rep:

 

1. Full Pull-Up

2. Full Chin-Up

3. Negative Pull-up

4. Band Assisted Pull-Up

 

This should make it fair and accessible for all. 

 

Hangs - Each 10 SECONDS is worth 1 Point

 

- So, if I did a 30 second dead hang, I get 3 points. If I did a 20 second dead hang and a 30 second flex arm hang, I'd get 5 points. 

 

1. Dead hang (Remember, squeeze your shoulder blades and draw them down, and squeeze your butt!)

2. Flex arm hold (like this)  

 

 

 

 

Now, I suck at spreadsheets. Fact. So the spreadsheet for the PvP comes courtesy of @Charlie_Quinn

[Elastigirl]

I'll play. IMy main focus is my paralettes training, so we'll see how much mojo I have left for this, but it sounds fun

[Arkania]

Count me in!

[Tobbe]

Ohh, this aligns well with my current workout routine! Hopefully I'll get to do my first pull up/chin up thanks to this challenge 

[Tobbe]

Also, wish I had bands that I could use for assisted pull ups...

[TimovieMan]

Since I'm doing deadhangs 3x per week in an attempt to improve my grip strength, and to work up to actual pull ups, I'm in.

 

I'm very competitive, so the peer pressure will help.

[WhiteGhost]

This meshes well with my overall goals so I am in for this   I will be out for half of the challenge, though, but I will do what I can

[Tobbe]

Just collected my first points  

 

3 minutes and 15 seconds dead hang. 19 points 

[Charlie_Quinn]

I'm in!

 

[Tobbe]

65 more seconds -> 6 more points  I'm loving this! Wonder how long this excitement will last  

[Tobbe]

4 minutes ago, Charlie_Quinn said:

I'm in!

 

 

A rings muscle up! That has got to be worth bonus points!

[Charlie_Quinn]

1 minute ago, Tobbe said:

 

A rings muscle up! That has got to be worth bonus points!

 

My dream is to be as awesome as this red panda

[jonfirestar]

Okay I'm here  Time to do many pull ups! Although I really think we should scale this to bodyweight. Not that I'm saying that just because it'll mean I'll win  

[Tobbe]

I haven't tried doing a pull-up in a while, because I knew I couldn't complete it. But now, because of this challenge, I just tried doing one. And yeah, I still can't perform a full pull-up. I get to where my forehead touches the bar, but then I can't pull any further. 

 

What would be the best exercise to do to be able to complete those last 10 - 15 inches of the pull-up?

[jonfirestar]

1 minute ago, Tobbe said:

What would be the best exercise to do to be able to complete those last 10 - 15 inches of the pull-up?

Negatives  that's always my answer. But holding the top as much as you can before slowly lowering. The other thing you might try is doing a pull up out of a negative, rather than off of a dead hang because that'll mean that your muscles are pre-engaged to start. 

 

And have a little patience and try again in a couple of weeks. 

 

2 hours ago, TimovieMan said:

Since I'm doing deadhangs 3x per week in an attempt to improve my grip strength, and to work up to actual pull ups, I'm in.

 

I'm very competitive, so the peer pressure will help.

I'm also going to tell you to do negatives. Just 1 or 2 to begin with. When you do your deadhangs just start at the top of the movement and lower slowly. It'll help teach you how to engage your back muscles and your arms for when you want to start working towards your first pull up. 

 

14 hours ago, Rhovaniel said:

4. Band Assisted Pull-Up

What about machine assisted pull ups? These are essentially the same thing (albeit without the variable resistance). And yes I know i should have thought about this when you asked me to look it over  

 

[Sloth the Enduring]

I haven't tried doing a pull-up in a while, because I knew I couldn't complete it. But now, because of this challenge, I just tried doing one. And yeah, I still can't perform a full pull-up. I get to where my forehead touches the bar, but then I can't pull any further. 
 
What would be the best exercise to do to be able to complete those last 10 - 15 inches of the pull-up?

Switch to chin-ups. When you can do 3 chins you should be able to get your first pull-up.

[Tobbe]

20 minutes ago, jonfirestar said:

Negatives  that's always my answer. But holding the top as much as you can before slowly lowering.

 

Thanks for the advice 

 

And extra thanks for being specific about holding at the top. I think I'll switch to purely focusing on negatives instead of (leg-) assisted pull-ups for my workout routine

[Tobbe]

9 minutes ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

Switch to chin-ups. When you can do 3 chins you should be able to get your first pull-up.

 

 

Is it really that much easier to do a chin-up compared to a pull-up? I'll try chin-ups next time!

[jonfirestar]

5 minutes ago, Tobbe said:

Is it really that much easier to do a chin-up compared to a pull-up? I'll try chin-ups next time!

I can't actually do chin ups at all but I can do pull ups (that's a mobility issue in one of my arms) but you really should try different grip stances and grip widths. It feels like a much stronger stance when I'm using a neutral grip compared to an overhand grip, for instance. So it is certainly worth trying to see if you are able to get some. Just beware you can get really good at doing them one way and still not be able to do them another. That is because there is a skill element with pull ups as well as the strength element. 

[Arkania]

12 minutes ago, Tobbe said:

 

Is it really that much easier to do a chin-up compared to a pull-up? I'll try chin-ups next time!

 

Yes

 

Did 2 chin-ups and 10 chin over bar holds

[Rhovaniel]

 

14 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

I'll play. IMy main focus is my paralettes training, so we'll see how much mojo I have left for this, but it sounds fun

 

6 hours ago, Arkania said:

Count me in!

 

4 hours ago, Tobbe said:

Ohh, this aligns well with my current workout routine! Hopefully I'll get to do my first pull up/chin up thanks to this challenge 

 

3 hours ago, TimovieMan said:

Since I'm doing deadhangs 3x per week in an attempt to improve my grip strength, and to work up to actual pull ups, I'm in.

 

I'm very competitive, so the peer pressure will help.

 

3 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

This meshes well with my overall goals so I am in for this   I will be out for half of the challenge, though, but I will do what I can

 

2 hours ago, Charlie_Quinn said:

I'm in!

 

 

1 hour ago, jonfirestar said:

Okay I'm here  Time to do many pull ups! Although I really think we should scale this to bodyweight. Not that I'm saying that just because it'll mean I'll win  

 

 

Yay, good to see you all here!

 

@Charlie_Quinn I was hoping someone would post that gif!

51 minutes ago, jonfirestar said:

What about machine assisted pull ups? These are essentially the same thing (albeit without the variable resistance). And yes I know i should have thought about this when you asked me to look it over  

*eyeroll* Jon, the 'Only these exercises count' thing was set to avoid these questions!  

 

Now, part of me is inclined to say no, machines don't count (we ARE machines!). But I'll open it up to everyone: Would you prefer they counted towards the points or not?

[Rhovaniel]

2 hours ago, Tobbe said:

65 more seconds -> 6 more points  I'm loving this! Wonder how long this excitement will last  

Also Tobbe I am loving this!

[TimovieMan]

2 hours ago, jonfirestar said:

Okay I'm here  Time to do many pull ups! Although I really think we should scale this to bodyweight. Not that I'm saying that just because it'll mean I'll win  

^ Since I weigh more than Jon, I agree with Jon™.

[Tobbe]

1 hour ago, jonfirestar said:

I can't actually do chin ups at all but I can do pull ups (that's a mobility issue in one of my arms) but you really should try different grip stances and grip widths. It feels like a much stronger stance when I'm using a neutral grip compared to an overhand grip, for instance. So it is certainly worth trying to see if you are able to get some.

 

1 hour ago, Arkania said:

Yes

 

Tried to do a chin-up. Got a little further. Got to my nose. So still not a full pull, but closer!

[Tobbe]

1 hour ago, Rhovaniel said:

Also Tobbe I am loving this!

 

Yay! 

 

You prompted me to go to the bar again! Did a negative pull-up and a negative chin-up for 20 sweet more points